VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

South Korea plans to resume issuing short-term visas for travellers from China on Saturday after China improved its COVID-19 situation, Seoul officials said on Friday.

South Korea suspended issuing short-term visas to Chinese visitors last month after China abruptly ended its "zero-COVID" policy, leading to a wave of infections. Beijing retaliated by halting short-term visas for South Korean travellers.

Kim Sung-ho, South Korea's vice interior minister in charge of disaster and safety management, said the government had decided to restart the visa issuance after the number of infections among Chinese arrivals dropped significantly, and new strains of the virus have not emerged.

South Korea's prime minister, Han Duck-soo, last week hinted at lifting restrictions before the end of February if China's COVID situation became "manageable".

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said the lifting of visa restrictions was "a step in the right direction".

"China will actively consider the resumption of short-term visas for South Korean citizens on a reciprocal basis. We hope that the Republic of Korea will work with China to create more convenience for the normal flow of people between the two sides," she said at a regular briefing. (Reuters)

PT Nusantara Regas (NR), Pertamina's Gas Subholding in the management of the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) business, has delivered 86.03 million MMBtu of gas and earned revenue of US$346.16 million in 2022.

From the revenue in 2022, Nusantara Regas earned a net profit of US$26.06 million (unaudited).

"We are grateful that in 2022, the achievement of NR has exceeded the KPI (key performance indicator) target. NR is committed to always be ready to contribute and be relied on in the future to fulfill energy needs," Nusantara Regas President Director Harry Budi Sidharta noted in an official statement received in Jakarta, Friday.

Nusantara Regas revealed that the positive performance was supported by the main business in receiving, storing, and regasifying LNG through the Floating Storage Regasification Unit (FSRU) in Jakarta Bay and the Onshore Receiving Facilities (ORF) in Muara Karang, Jakarta.

The gas is intended to fulfill 60 percent of the energy needs of the State Electricity Company (PLN) power plant in Jakarta and West Java.

Sidharta further elaborated on Nusantara Regas' business development plans for 2023. Nusantara Regas plans to realize new business developments in the Jakarta, West Java, and Papua regions while continuing to utilize LNG. The business expansion efforts are aimed at meeting the demand for natural gas energy in Indonesia.

"NR, as part of Pertamina's Gas Subholding, is ready to continue the trend of positive performance. Business expansion to Papua is expected to support the acceleration of natural gas utilization in Indonesia. In particular, the use of natural gas in power plants can reduce fuel subsidies and encourage the use of energy that is more environmentally friendly," Sidharta stated.

Meanwhile, the Board of Commissioners of Nusantara Regas also expressed its commitment to continuing to support Nusantara Regas' business development.

"One of the keys to a sustainable business is fostering good relations with stakeholders, innovating business schemes to create new opportunities for business continuity," President Commissioner of Nusantara Regas Heru Setiawan stated. (antaranews)

Jakarta (voinews): Youth and Sports Minister Zainudin Amali suggested strong countries, such as Argentina and Portugal, to take part in the U-20 international mini tournament in which the Indonesian U-20 national team will participate.

"We invite strong national teams that (will provide a good atmosphere for the Indonesian) U-20 national team," the minister stated at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium, here, Thursday.

Amali stated that Argentina and Portugal can be invited to participate in the competition planned to be held on February 17, 19, and 22, 2023, since their U-20 national teams have not qualified for the 2023 U-20 World Cup.

The minister deemed that their participation in the mini tournament will be good for Indonesia's preparation in the 2023 U-20 Asian Cup scheduled in Uzbekistan on March 1-18, 2023.

"We expect that with strong opponents, the performance of our national team will improve," he remarked.

In response to the minister's idea, Indonesian Football Association's (PSSI's) Technical Director, Indra Sjafri, noted that the possibility to invite Argentina and Portugal to the mini tournament was still open.

What is clear, however, is that until Thursday, Fiji, Guatemala, and the Dominican Republic are the only three countries participating in the tournament apart from Indonesia.

These three countries, like Indonesia, have qualified for the 2023 U-20 World Cup.

"For Fiji, they will come on February 16, 2023. However, for the match location in Indonesia, I do not know," he remarked.

He said the Indonesian U-20 national team coach Shin expects all or 30 players to have arrived in Jakarta when the mini tournament is held. (antaranews)

Jakarta (voinews): Increase in number of people from the productive age group of 16-65 years, or demographic bonus, must be absorbed by the world of work to avoid demographic disaster in future, Vice President Ma'ruf Amin stated.

"The demographic bonus will only be a blessing if the productive age population can be properly absorbed into the labor market. If not, the large number of workforce will actually turn into a demographic disaster," Amin noted at the Manhalul Ma'arif Islamic Boarding School in Central Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), on Friday.

The vice president made the statement while inaugurating the 2022 Community Vocational Training Center (BLK) and the Community BLK Independence Festival that was also attended by Minister of Manpower Ida Fauziyah, West Nusa Tenggara Governor Zulkieflimansyah, and religious scholars.

"Indonesia will experience a demographic bonus in which the population of the productive age group or the workforce dominates and exceeds the population of the non-productive age group. We must take advantage of this condition as a great opportunity to carry out various development accelerations," he remarked.

However, Vice President Amin stated that the goal of accelerating progress would not succeed if it were to solely depend on the population factor. Reliable human resources are deemed crucial in order to win the global competition.

"For this matter, the government continues to encourage various strategies to build Indonesia's HR with the quality and capability to adapt to all the changes and disruptions that follow, one of which is through the existence of this Community BLK," he stated.

According to the vice president, expanding the establishment of Community BLK to reach all corners of the country will help people from the workforce age group to access job training.

"Apart from reducing the unemployment rate, strengthening and expanding vocational training through Community BLK is expected to create skilled and competitive workers," the vice president remarked.

Currently, 3,757 Community BLKs have been built throughout the country, he explained.

"I lauded the minister of manpower and all related parties for having supported the implementation of the program," he remarked.

Meanwhile, Manpower Minister Ida Fauziyah stated that from 2017 to 2022, the Manpower Ministry has allocated programs and budgets for government assistance through the construction of Community BLK spread throughout Indonesia.

"Until 2022, the number of Community BLKs that have been built reached 3,757. On this occasion, we invited 846 institutions that received development assistance and equipment in 2022 to attend and inaugurate the completed infrastructure and ready to conduct training programs," Fauziyah stated.

The 3,757 Community BLK were classified into the three classes of "Growing," with 1,752 Community BLK that have conducted training very well; "Developing," with 876 Community BLK that have organized training and established partnerships for training funding and alumni empowerment; as well as "Independent," with 283 Community BLK that were able to produce goods and services and have the ability to support themselves.

The remaining 846 Community BLKs have just been built and inaugurated by Vice President Ma'ruf Amin.

"It is proven that in the Mandalika Special Economic Zone (SEZ), the job market and business opportunities are open, but it cannot absorb the local community since they do not have competence according to the job market," the minister pointed out.

Fauziyah cautioned that this condition can disrupt development of the Mandalika SEZ.

In the Mandalika area, the Ministry of Manpower integrates these programs into a manpower ecosystem through an area-based employment opportunity expansion program.

The program was implemented collaboratively by the Ministry of Manpower and the Central Lombok District Government, PT ITDC managing the SEZ, business actors, nine village governments supporting the Mandalika area, as well as various other cross-sectoral stakeholders. (antaranews)